


The Lion and The Mabari

by Bandshe



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Crush, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Implied Hand Job, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-25
Updated: 2015-05-25
Packaged: 2018-04-01 03:53:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4004860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bandshe/pseuds/Bandshe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Abril and Cullen get closer to revealing their feelings for each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Lion and The Mabari

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Leabbott](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leabbott/gifts).



> This was a giveaway piece that took me longer than I'd like to admit.

The Inquisitor hovered over the merchant stand trying to choose between the carving of the lion or the mabari. They were both beautifully crafted, but there was a slight prejudge in regards to the mabari’s style. Orelsians Abril shook her head.

“Madame, if you please, there are others who would like to look at my wares.” the merchant tried hurrying Abril, but all he did was annoy her. She wasn’t the type to lose patience or even be short with someone, but this was important to her. She needed to pick just the right gift for Cullen.

“Maker, I’ll take both.” she gave the merchant the money and took the figurines. Abril held the box to her chest afraid to let it go, fearing something would happen to it if she did.

“Are you going to pretend you found those too? ‘Oh, Cullen, I was just wandering Val Royeaux and there they were, hidden in between two crates. I looked around and there was no one who would claim them.’” Dorian mocked her in his most feminine voice.

“Shut up. There is nothing wrong with a gift amongst friends.” Abril placed the box in the hart’s saddle bag.

“True, but I think it’s safe to say you two are set for life in terms of nameday gifts.” Dorian laughed and walked away.

Abril waited for Dorian to out of view before pulling out a piece of parchment Cullen had handed over to her before she left. He had a special request for her. He wanted her to see if there was anyone left that would want to join the Inquisition. Abril suspected no one else would, but it gave her a chance to talk to Cullen when she arrived, at least without looking like an idiot. Abril pressed her nose to the parchment and inhaled deeply. The paper smelled like him. It smelled of leather, steel and his hair cream. The thought of him brought red to her cheeks and ears. Her smile gave her thoughts away and Dorian shouted out to her.

“Trevelyan, the sooner we ride, the sooner we get back to the Commander.”

Abril glared at him, she was thankful no one else was around to hear him. Dorian may enjoy teasing, but he was never one to divulge her secrets to others. They were her’s to keep, like her feelings for Cullen, even if it would take a lifetime for her to share those with the Commander and at the rate she was going, it would. “Yes, let’s head back home.”

Cullen paced the battlements staring at the gates, hoping for a sign of the Inquisitor, she was due back any day and he wanted to be the first to see her as she walked through the gates. He hadn’t had a full night’s sleep since she had left. His nightmares grew in frequency and his headaches were getting worse. Cassandra tried pushing him to see the healers, but he kept dismissing her. “Cassandra, this is my problem, I must deal with it on my own.”

“Commander, I think you at least need to find a way to soothe the headaches.” Cassandra stood in front of him with her arms crossed, her usual look of disgust unwavering.

“I’ll deal with it.” Cullen looked down at the courtyard.

“This will affect your work soon, Commander.” Cassandra’s tone softened.

“And when it does, then I will step down and you’ll be the first to know, until then, I’ve got it handled.” Cullen turned and headed back into his quarters. He closed the doors and took a deep breath, sleep was pulling at him and he decided it was for the best that he take a small break. He looked up at his ladder, it was a long way up and he didn’t know if he’d make it up there. When he finally reached the top he began to peel off all the layers of armor, the weight of the armor started to take a toll on him. Was it the lack of sleep or the lack of lyrium making him feel weaker? It didn’t matter, at that moment he needed sleep and he wasn’t going to fight it. Cullen slipped into bed and fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

“Cullen? Cullen, wake up.” he felt a small hand on his arm tugging at him. He opened an eye to see who it was.

“Abril, uh, Inquisitor!” Cullen sat up quickly. “I didn’t know, I mean, when did you return?” Cullen looked around his room and realized that he was practically naked under his sheets. “Inquisitor, what are you doing up here?” Cullen finally asked.

“Oh, I came here to talk to you. Something has been eating away at me for a while. It’s something I feel you should know.” He saw her lower her head and take a deep breath in before looking back at him. “Cullen, I’m not sure if you have noticed or anything, but…Maker this is difficult. I like you, I mean, I really care about you.”

Cullen wasn’t sure what to do, here she was, the Inquisitor in his bed professing her feelings for him and he was practically nude under the sheets. “Uh, Inquisitor, are you sure that now is the right time.” He motions to the fact that he’s not necessarily in a great position to be entertaining guests, let alone the Inquisitor.

“Cullen, I think that now is the perfect time.” 

A kiss, a simple kiss brought with it the rush of passion. He trembled under her lips, he had waited so long for that moment and he thought it was never going to happen. He felt her climb on the bed, felt her over him. Her tongue slipped into his mouth, her hips rolling against his as they fervently began to strip the remainder of clothing between the two.

“Maker, I’ve waited for months for this very moment.” Cullen moaned.

“Me too.” Abril added. Her hand slipped under the sheets and found it’s way around his shaft. He wasn’t hard yet, and he was a little embarrassed, but her smile was so soothing that he wasn’t worried about it. Her hand felt familiar he couldn’t quite place it, but he knew it. Before he was able to figure out why it was so familiar he heard the door slam.

Cullen sat up in bed and quickly realized why the hand seemed so familiar, it was his.”Maker, it was just a dream.” he huffed. Maybe this was the real reason he was avoiding sleep, the constant torture of being with Abril, but not having her was too much.

“Commander?” Abril called out.

He didn’t want to speak up, he was afraid she’d come up the ladder, afraid she’d see him still at full mast. 

“Commander are you here?” Abril paused and shook her head. “Of course he’s not here you idiot. Unless, he’s invisible, he’s not here. Maker, what about if he’s asleep, I probably ruined his sleep?” She argued with herself.

“It’s alright Inquisitor, my sleep hasn’t been much of a friend as of late.” Cullen finally decided to speak up. 

Abril jumped when she heard his voice. She cursed herself for her idiocy, he had heard everything and now she would never be able to look at him.

“If you’ll give me a moment I’ll be down to go over your report.” 

“It’s fine, I’ll just come back later. You should rest.” Abril walked out and quietly closed the door behind her.

Cullen sank back into bed, if he had just waited another hour he would’ve been awake when she arrived, instead he was laying in bed with his hand down his smalls like a teenager. He pulled the sheet over his head and closed his eyes hoping to shake the events that had transpired only moments beforehand. “Maker, let sleep take me.”

Abril was slumped against his door looking at the figurines in her hand. “Why did I just barge in there? What if he was…? Maker, I’ll never be able to look at him again.”

“Inquisitor?” one of the scouts walked towards her worried. “Are you ok? Is there something wrong with the Commander?” she asked.

“No, Scout Bedford. I just have ill timing is all. I just interrupted our Commander’s sleep, I’m sure I’m to suffer the consequences later.” Abril slowly stood up refusing the scout’s help. 

“Nonsense your worship, he likes you too much to take his frustrations out on you.” Scout Bedford quickly covered her mouth, but it was too late, she let it slip. The rumors were all over Skyhold, Cullen wasn’t very good at hiding his feelings for the Inquisitor. It was easy to tell from his demeanor. The intimidating Commander of the Inquisition becomes a kitten every time the Inquisitor is near. The recruits try to keep the rumors to a dull roar, they know if Cullen found out that he’d have their heads. “Maker, I didn’t. I’m sorry, please don’t say anything.” Scout Bedford was mortified, she thought for sure Abril was going to turn on her heels and storm back into Cullen’s office.

“It’s ok Bedford, Cullen and I are good friends, I would hope that he would like me enough not to take out his frustrations on me. Besides if he did try, I’d put him back in his place.” Abril grabs her sack and heads off to her quarters.

On the way to her quarters all Abril could think about was what Scout Bedford had said. Was it that he liked her like an acquaintance or maybe even a friend? Or was it more than that? As far as she was concerned it wasn’t possible, not during this time at least. No one had time to think about such things, well except for her of course, all she could think about was such things. She took out the figurines she bought him an stared at them, thinking of what a fool she was for buying them. How was she going to play this off as just something she stumbled on? She knew how she was going to tell him, they were after all chess pieces. They were each a knight piece, but they were specialty pieces, part of a broken up set. A set the merchant told her was stolen. 

She got up ready to rest on her couch when she heard a knock on the door. Was it him? Was he visiting her? She ran down her stairs hoping to see him at the other side of the door, but when she opened it she was disappointed to see that it was only Cassandra looking back at her.

“Inquisitor, I must speak with you, it’s about our Commander.”

Abril was worried something had happened once she had left his quarters. “What happened?”

“He is having bad headaches, they seem to be affecting his duties. He is no longer focused and losing sleep. I’ve tried talking to him, but he says he has things handled. I think he’s more likely to listen to you.” Cassandra turned back around and headed out the door. Abril followed behind before realizing she had left the chess pieces on her desk. 

“Hold on a bit, I forgot my reports. I might as well leave them there.” Abril chased after Cassandra. Abril tried keeping up with the Seeker, but it wasn’t an easy feat. Cassandra continued on about how worried she was about the Commander and how she felt that Abril had to keep an eye out on him. Why her? Did Cassandra suspect there was more between them than there actually was?

“Why me?” Abril asked nervously.

“You’re the Inquisitor, you hold more authority than any of us. He is committed to the Inquisition, dedicated, he will not risk letting you down. He won’t be the kink in the Inquisition’s armor.” Cassandra said in her usual annoyed tone.

The walk felt longer than usual. She wanted to see him as soon as possible, but she really didn't want Cassandra there, it would alter things. Cassandra reached his door before Abril did, and she burst through it.

“Commander!” she yelled from the bottom of the ladder.

Abril could hear his groans, she felt guilty for not preventing Cassandra from bursting in. She could’ve stopped her, could’ve told her that she would take care of it later, when she could be alone with him. What did she do? She was always ruining things.

“Cassandra? Can this wait? I’m not in the mood right now.” Cullen muttered from his loft.

“I brought the inquisitor, I feel that you should talk to her. She’s concerned about you.”

What was Cassandra doing? It’s true that Abril was concerned but now she just felt like she was being used as a guilt trip.  
“Inquisitor? I thought you were going to return later.” Cullen rubbed his eyes before whipping the sheets off of him.

“I—I was, but Cassandra urged me to come, she was, uh, is concerned with your well being, and to be honest, so am I.” Abril looked at Cassandra who looked more than satisfied with her accomplishment.

“I’ll leave you to talk some sense into our Commander.” Cassandra turned and walked out the door, closing it behind her.

“I’ll be down in a moment, Inquisitor.” Cullen shouted from his loft.

“Nonsense, Cullen. I may be concerned but quite frankly I rather you sleep.”

“No use in that Inquisitor, my sleep has already been interrupted twice today. I don’t think I’ll be going to bed anytime soon.” Cullen walked around the room collected pieces of his armor and putting them on before heading down the stairs.

Abril couldn’t help but stare at his ass as he descended the ladder. The urge to pinch it was too much so she had to step away. Cullen turned to face her and her nervous smile made him blush. 

“So, you’re concerned?” Cullen walked to his desk. 

Abril followed holding her reports close to her chest. “Well, Cassandra made it seem very dire. I just want to make sure that everything is fine. If you need me…I mean if you need anything, you can have me…I mean, you can ask me.” Abril tripped over her words, again. Like always. 

Cullen smiled and sat at his desk. “Thank you Inquisitor, but I assure you that I’m fine. I’ve just been having some trouble sleeping, but nothing serious. So your reports?” Cullen pointed at the papers she held to her chest. She was disappointed that he wouldn’t share anything with her. Maybe Dorian was wrong, maybe Cullen didn’t have the feelings for her that he said Cullen did. 

“Uh, yes. I’ve collected what I could, but it seems there aren’t that many people that are interested in joining anymore. They are busy trying to rebuild after the rogue mages and templars have attacked. I’m sorry, I tried.”

The truth was that Cullen knew these people wanted to rebuild, he didn't expect anyone to join and he felt like a jerk for even sending her to do it. Anything to talk to her, but maybe he should actually try talking to her, no it’s too embarrassing. Abril handed him the papers and he thumbed through the papers. Abril put her hand in her small pouch and played with the chess pieces debating on whether or not to give them to him now. She watches his lips move as he reads the report, she finds herself licking her lips fantasizing about his lips pressed against hers. She balls hers hands into a fist digging her nails into the palms of her hands hoping to focus on something else. His hair was messy from his rest and she just wanted to run her fingers through it. She never got a chance to see it untamed, it looked nice.

“Your hair looks nice like that.” she realized too late that the words were said out loud. Cullen looks up at her, his face burned at the compliment.  
“Uh, thank you, but it’s unruly and I prefer to keep it controlled.”

“Spoken like a true Commander. Everything in order and in it’s place.” she giggled as she caught him running his fingers through his hair as if he was trying to keep it under control. “I’m sorry if I embarrassed you Commander, that wasn’t my intention.”

“It’s quite alright, not many people see me like this.”

“Do you have any reports for me Commander?” Abril asked wanting to find a reason to stay a bit longer.

“Well, I found out who was hiding all the daggers. Turns out it was Cole. You have to talk to him, I know he means well, but he’s starting to cause more trouble than preventing. We also have had notification from an assassin acquaintance of Leliana that one of our men has been seen making deals with red templars. We are planning on finding out who it is and deal with him. If you want we can let you take care of him.” Cullen pinched the bridge of his nose as a headache started to worm it’s way out.

“Commander?” Abril stepped forward, but Cullen stopped her.

“I’m fine.”

Abril was tired of him dismissing her concerns. “Cullen Rutherford, you tell me this instant what is going on? Is it the withdrawal? I can help you, don't push me away, I’m your superior and a mage who can help soothe your headaches. I can't get rid of them permanently, but I can help.” Abril walks up behind him and places her hands on his temples. She cools her hands and gently rubs his temples dulling the pain.

“That feels nice.” Cullen reaches up and unconsciously grips her hand, sending shivers through her spine and a burning in the pit of her stomach.

After a few minutes she warmed up her hands and and soothed him with the warmth of her magic. He sits back, a small moan escaping his lips. This is the most intimate moment they’ve ever shared, all she could think about was kissing him, just a small peck on his head, but she couldn’t, it would be presumptuous. She sighed and removed her hands from his temples.

“Don’t stop, please.” Cullen’s voice was relaxed, she had never heard it so soft before.

“Would you rather go somewhere more comfortable?” she couldn't believe the words that were coming out of her mouth. She knew what she was suggesting and she was expecting him to reject her idea, but he’d surprise her.

“Yes, let’s go upstairs.” his words filled her with a small bit of hope, was it going to happen? Would they kiss? Would they both profess their love for each other? Cullen stood up and grabbed her hand leading her to his ladder. Her face burned, her heart pounded in her chest. She couldn't talk, she could barely walk. She panicked, her first instinct was to run out the door, it was all a dream. _Yes, this is a dream, this isn’t happening. I’m going to wake up at any moment and curse myself._ Once again she had a view of his rear as she climbed up the ladder after him.  
He took the bulk of his armor off and climbed back into his bed. Abril walked over to his bed slowly, still uncertain of the outcome. She sat on the edge of his bed and resumed her session. His face was so peaceful, the smile on his face was so sweet. She rarely saw him smile, she treasured this moment, his smile was for her, just like all hers were for him. She went from hovering her hands a bit over his temples to laying them on his temples. She rubbed them until he let out small snores. She stroked his cheek hoping she could just climb in bed with him. She reached into her pouch and took out the chess pieces. She stroked them before placing them on his side table. She took out a piece of parchment and wrote a small note. She got up and leaned over kissing him on the forehead. He stirred in bed and she was afraid he was going to wake up and question her about it, but he didn’t. “I love you Cullen.” She turned to descend the ladder when she heard him beckon to her. 

“Abril, stay with me.” clearly he wasn’t thinking straight. 

“Cullen, I can’t. It’s not right.” What was she saying, she waited for a moment like this. She fantasized about the day he invited her to his bed. 

“I need you besides me.” Cullen didn’t open his eyes and that’s when she realized he was talking in his sleep. If she listened to him he would panic when he would wake up with her besides him. The temptation was great, she knew Dorian would never let her hear the end of this. “Please." his voice trembled, he was about to cry and she couldn’t bare it.

 _What’s the harm of just being here for a moment? I’ll just wait for him to fall deeper into sleep._ She walked back to his bed and pushed him to the side, she wanted to make a quick escape if she had to. She lay above the sheets and stared at the chess pieces until she felt sleep take over. She fought it, she couldn’t fall asleep now, Cassandra knew she was here. What if she came back and saw her walking down the ladder? But it was too late, she had fallen asleep. 

The two shifted in bed for a few hours before she was awoken by his nightmares. He had his arms wrapped around her waist, his lips brushing up against her ears as he mumbled and cried.  
“Stop, leave me. I won’t listen to you. You can't control me.” he tightened his grip around her waist, she couldn’t leave now. Now, he really needed her. She managed to turn around and place her hand on his temple. The warmth from her hand calmed him down. His hand came up and gripped hers. “Abril?”

“Yes.” she whispered.

“Thank you for staying.” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. “It means a lot to me.” 

She couldn’t handle it anymore. She didn’t know what was going on and she wasn’t prepared to wake him up to ask. Surely he had to be aware of his actions, he knew it was her. “Maker, Cullen I have to go. I’m sorry.” Abril slid out of his bed and climbed down his stairs. Normally she'd share something like this with Dorian, but she felt it wouldn’t be right.

She walked out of his quarters and leaned against his door. She couldn’t believe any of it, she could still smell him on her, but it didn't make any of it any more believable.

“Inquisitor, you’ve been in there for hours. Is he better?” Cassandra approached.

Maker, was she just waiting for her to leave his room? “Yes, he's resting now. If you please, just leave him be for the time being. He'll come out when he’s ready.” she walked past the Seeker and headed to the tavern. She would need a drink after this.

“Boss, I haven’t seen you in here for some time.” Bull raised his stein as she sat down at the bar.

“I just feel like now is a good time for a stiff drink.” she stared at her drink.

“What’s the matter, Boss?” Bull leaned on one arm looking at her.

“It’s been a long day. I was going over my reports with the Commander is all. It’s grown to be a tedious task.” she finally took a sip of her drink. It burned her throat as it went down, but she needed something to kick her back to the present.

“If you say so.” Bull sat up, he knew when someone was lying, but he wasn’t going to say anything. She didn’t seem like she wanted to talk about it and he wasn’t going to pry.

She finished off her drink and said her good byes before heading back to her quarters. She was tense, her muscles ached, she wanted, no, needed a bath. She drew herself a bath, she added some scents and climbed in. She stared at her ceiling wondering how she was supposed to look at him later in the war room. “Maker, will he bring this up? What if he does, should I apologize?” she muttered to herself. Once she saw that her fingers looked like prunes she decided to get out of her tub. She dried herself off and put on a fresh pair of clothes. She grabbed a book from her shelf and sat on the couch reading until one of the messengers had come in to call her to war room. This was it, the moment where she would have to face her Commander, the man she was just in bed with.

When she stepped in there was no sign of Cullen, she figured he was too embarrassed to show his face to her. She knew the feeling, but in reality he was still in his bed.

His door slammed as the messenger stepped in. “Commander, sister Nightingale requests your presence in the war room. She said immediately.”

Cullen groaned throwing the sheets off him. He heard something fall and cursed himself. “What now? Today isn’t my day.” Cullen got on his knees and saw the two chess pieces on the floor. He examined them, rubbed his thumb along them, feeling all the grooves. “Where did these come from?” He went to place them on his table when he saw the note. He picked it up and read it.

_Commander,_

_I have come across these while on my mission and I figured you’d love them. They were part of a set, but the merchant no longer had the set. I heard you always wanted your own mabari and well, this is the best I could do for you at the moment. I hope you don’t hate it. Of course the lion is, well, you I guess._

_If you don’t like them you don't have to keep them, I’ll understand. I hope you feel better and I’ll see you in the war room later._  
_~~Love~~ Sincerely,_  
_The Inquisitor._

The note smelled of her, come to think of it, so did he. Then, to his horror, he realized it wasn’t a dream, he actually begged the Inquisitor to come to bed with him. His face burned, how was he going to face her now? He didn’t want to leave his room, if he pretended he was still asleep he wouldn’t have to see her for at least another day, and by then he might be able to look at her again. Maybe.

“Commander?” the messenger called to him.

“Tell her I’m on my way!” he growled.

“Yes, ser.” the messenger ran out of his quarters.

Cullen finished getting dressed and put the chess pieces in his pocket. He was going to add them to his set later on. He smiled as he thumbed over them again in his pocket.

“I’m sorry I’m late.” Cullen ran into the war room avoiding Abril’s gaze. “Let’s get on with this.” he stared at the map.

The meeting wasn’t long and he was thankful for that, he just wanted to leave and play a game of chess with anyone who was willing. He needed to unwind, to keep his mind off of his previous actions. He started to walk out the door when he felt her hand on his arm. He froze, he didn't know what to do. For a split second Abril feared that he didn't want to look at her because she did something wrong. _I knew I shouldn’t have gotten in bed with him._ “How are you feeling Commander?”

“I’m fine thank you for asking, but there are things I must attend to. If I require your assistance for anything I will call for you.” his words were cold, but he didn’t know how else to talk to her, at least not without stuttering.

“Yes.” Abril fought back her tears. Her heart sank, she was sure he was rejecting her. She was positive he was. She watched him walk out of the war room and stayed back for a while before leaving the room herself. 

She went searching for Dorian, she needed to vent, but he was nowhere to be found. “Great, out of all the times he isn’t lurking around in the library.” She decided she’d go out into the garden, maybe the sun and flowers would help her relax. When she stepped through the doors she spotted Dorian, but she also spotted Cullen. They were playing chess and there was no way she could intervene, not without having to interact with Cullen again. “Suck it up Trevelyan.” she coaxed herself. When she approached she noticed he was playing with the pieces she got him and she noticed Dorian’s smug smile. Of course, he knew what was going on.

“Oh, Inquisitor, have you come to see my resounding victory over our Commander.” Dorian boasted.

“Not quite. I needed to speak to you.”

“Well that won’t do. I’m needed elsewhere.” Dorian excuses himself. Now she just stood there awkwardly.

“Care for a game, Inquisitor?” Cullen smiled.

She couldn’t believe what she heard, what she saw. He smiled at her, he wasn’t avoiding her at all.

“I just got two new pieces and I’ve been dying to use them.” Cullen pointed out the pieces she got him. “Thank you for the gifts, it’s very kind of you.”

“Uh, well, you're welcome.” She blushed, she was sure he saw her because she could hear his chuckle.

“Here, why don't you play with the lion.” He hands her the lion. She reaches for it brushing her fingers against, sending a spark through both of them.


End file.
